THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
July 8, 2024 at 17:21 JST
The Metropolitan Police Department’s headquarters in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
An Iranian national suspected in an armored-car robbery in western Tokyo 23 years ago was arrested on July 8 after he tried to re-enter Japan illegally, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
Mohsen Teimoori Sijani, 51, who has been on the international wanted list, was identified when he was caught with a counterfeit French passport at Kansai Airport on July 6, police said.
His address and occupation are unknown, and he has denied the robbery allegations, they said.
Teimoori Sijani is believed to have been one of three Iranian men who committed the heist on Oct. 3, 2001, at the Tokyo Musashi agricultural cooperative’s Hanakoganei branch in Kodaira city.
At around 3:30 p.m. that day, a security guard was loading a cash transport vehicle at the branch when he was shot in the right thigh by a handgun. He needed three months to recover from the serious injuries.
The assailants made off with 102.2 million yen ($635,000) in cash.
Teimoori Sijani had reported himself to an immigration office for overstaying his visa, and he left Japan five days after the robbery.
Police found his fingerprints on an abandoned vehicle in Kanagawa Prefecture that was believed to have been used in the getaway.
He was placed on Interpol’s wanted list.
On July 6, an Osaka immigration official at Kansai Airport detected the fake French passport and identified Teimoori Sijani through an ID card he was carrying.
His fingerprints also matched those kept on record, leading to his arrest.
One of the perpetrators was arrested the year after the robbery and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The third suspect also fled Japan and was placed on the international wanted list.
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